Murtagh Weighs in at Carton Pro-Am

The stars of stage, screen and sport will be out in force this week for the curtain-raiser for the Irish Open – the Wednesday Pro-Am - takes place at Carton House.

Jockey Johnny Murtagh, fresh from his incredible performance at Royal Ascot last week where he booted home four winners to land the title of Leading Jockey over the five days of sizzling action.

Murtagh will be participating in the morning ‘shotgun’ section of Wednesday’s Pro-Am (08.00 start), aiming to ‘whip up’ support for the popular European Tour event which heralds a packed weekend of sport for the County of Kildare, with the The Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby also taking place nearby in the Curragh.

Already this week the jockey has enjoyed pitting his wits against the 176 yard par 3 17th hole, where around 1500 spectators can cheer their favourites from a superb grandstand surrounding the green. Wristbands for ‘Open House@17’ are available for purchase at €10 per day.

Also from the world of sport in the Pro-Am is Dubliner Ken Doherty, the 1997 World Snooker Champion, who will be hoping to ‘pot’ a few birdies along with his fellow members of RESPECT Ireland, the Official Charity of the Irish Open 2013.

Former Chelsea footballer, Andriy Shevchenko shows off his prowess on the golf course in the company of leading Irish businessman and financier Dermot Desmond, also in the morning Shotgun, while the world of music is represented by former Westlife singer Brian McFadden and Keith Duffy of Ireland’s other famous ‘boy band’ Boyzone.

Fáilte Ireland’s Head of Golf Tourism, Tony Lenehan said: “If you love sport, this is the weekend for you and Kildare is the place to be. Even if you just like a good mixture of spectacle, excitement and socialising then make sure you get out of the traps and book your ticket now.”

Four Irish Major Champions – Darren Clarke, Padraig Harrington, Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy - will compete at Carton House along with Carton’s Touring Professional, Shane Lowry, a host of Tour winners and Ryder Cup stars including 2014 captain Paul McGinley.

The stage is set for a superb platform for the event’s return to the Republic of Ireland after a visit to Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland last year.

To complement the sporting action, Maynooth, Celbrigde and Leixlip - the “Three Irish Open Towns” as they are known locally - have joined forces to ensure that local tourism and business interests embrace the Irish Open as an opportunity to promote all that is great about the county.

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Magnificent Seven Ride into Carton

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A field of Major Champions, Ryder Cup players and European Tour winners will converge on Carton House Golf Club this week, when the Irish Open will again command the attention of a global audience.

Headlined by the Emerald Isle’s Major winning quartet of Darren Clarke, Padraig Harrington, Graeme McDowell and World Number Two Rory McIlroy, the €2million event has again attracted some of the world’s greatest golfers to Maynooth, in Co. Kildare.

The 2003 Irish Open champion Michael Campbell, Scotland’s Paul Lawrie and Ryder Cup-winning Captain José Maria Olazábal will also be in attendance, taking the number of Major Champions to seven.

Between them, the ‘Magnificent Seven’ have captured 11 Major titles, with Harrington – the winner of the Irish Open in 2007 – contributing the most with three. 

There are 79 European Tour winners in the stellar line-up, which includes the defending champion Jamie Donaldson of Wales, who followed his Irish Open success with victory in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship in January.

That was one of 14 victories during the 2013 campaign recorded by players lining up at Carton House, with 2004 Irish Open Champion Brett Rumford the only multiple winner of the season to date with success in both the Ballantine’s Championship and Volvo China Open.

An abundance of Ryder Cup pedigree will also be on display in the 39th edition of the Irish Open, with McDowell, another of the 2013 champions having captured his eighth European Tour title last month at the Volvo World Match Play Championship in Bulgaria, one of 18 players teeing up at Carton House GC who can boast previous experience of golf’s greatest team event.

Four members of Olazábal’s triumphant team from the ‘Miracle at Medinah’ – Lawrie, McDowell, McIlroy and Italian Francesco Molinari – will be reunited with their Captain, who won the Irish Open in 1990. 

The list of former winners in the field includes Shane Lowry, the local hero attached to Carton House who triumphed in such memorable fashion as an amateur in 2009.

Lowry said: “It should be a great week, especially if we can have a bit of decent weather. The greens are always in beautiful condition, so holing putts shouldn’t be a problem. But it probably won’t be that low scoring a week, as it’s pretty long and the rough can be thick in places, though perhaps not quite as thick as in previous years.

“I only live just round the corner from the course, so I spend a lot of time there. I had a practice round before playing in Munich last week, and the greens were incredibly pure.

“It’s going to be an exciting week for me and for Irish golf in general, so I can’t wait. It’s going to be difficult to focus purely on my golf as I’m sure people will be wanting autographs and photos, but hopefully once all the excitement has died down, I can put four decent rounds together.”

Carton House will be hosting the tournament for the first time since 2006, when Thomas Björn captured the title, and the Dane arrives in Ireland on the back of a runner-up finish behind Ernie Els at last week’s BMW International Open in Germany.

He said: “I wanted to try and get myself in the top 20 in The Race to Dubai, so even though I was obviously disappointed to miss out on the win last week, I still achieved that goal. It’s great that I’m going to Ireland to play on a golf course I’ve won on before, so I’ll keep carrying on and fighting hard until I win another tournament. Hopefully it comes this week.”

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Wozzilroy - Caroline and Rory

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Caroline Wozniacki first became the world number one in October, 2010, it seemed only a matter of time before the Dane would go on to win her first grand slam title. At a time when Serena Williams was out through injury and Venus Williams’ powers were starting to wane, her arrival was a real breath of fresh air. Here was a new face, a fun, outgoing young woman, popular with players and media alike.

In the summer of 2011 Wozniacki’s star power hit full steam when she began a relationship with Rory McIlroy. When they met, it was arguable that Wozniacki was the bigger star. Since they met McIlroy has won two Majors but been criticised for his inconsistency and Wozniacki has slipped to number nine, prompting the inevitable suggestion that their relationship has been bad for their respective games. It is a suggestion that both reject.

One has only to see the effort each makes to see the other, in their separate day jobs, to realise that the relationship is still going strong. McIlroy is a regular visitor to the tennis circuit and Wozniacki is often seen inside the ropes at the world’s top golf events.

“Golf and tennis follow the sun; we go around the world to pretty similar places. It’s not easy, but we make it work,” Wozniacki said, relaxing between matches at one of her regular Tour stops. 

“I think what Rory and I have is very special. He’s trying to work it out with his schedule, I’m trying to go and see him when I can, so in that way it’s been working out well so far. We speak every day but we never have a set time where we have to speak. We just do it because we want to.”

The pair are favourites of the paparazzi but refreshingly, they don’t seem to be seeking attention as some other high-profile couples have done in the past. Not surprisingly, they are most in demand in Britain and in Denmark, but they seem to handle it well.

“It’s not really difficult to deal with and I don’t really pay attention to it, to be honest,” Wozniacki said. “Because we’ve grown up and been used to the media, separately, it’s nothing new. It’s not like it’s been put on us all of a sudden. Also, the way we’ve been raised, we just do our thing and get on with it.”

Some may feel that Wozniacki is now more famous for being McIlroy’s girlfriend than for her tennis exploits. But the Dane maintains that any criticism of her abilities, of her relationship and of any aspect of her life is something she has got used to.

“There will always be critics out there. There’ll be people, too, who pat you on the shoulder and say you’re unbelievable but who don’t really mean it. Then there’ll be people who are on you all the time; they don’t really mean it either but just don’t have anything better to do; and then there are the journalists who need to write articles.”

Just short of her 23rd birthday it seems ridiculous that Wozniacki is being written off while still so young. Though Wozniacki says she is unlikely to be playing beyond 30, she still believes in her ability and believes winning a grand slam is possible. “I think I’ve done most things that I could in the tennis world,” she said.

“Obviously winning tournaments is something that is always a priority and of course I want to do well in the grand slams, because I’ve reached finals, semi-finals and quarter-finals, but I haven’t won a grand slam yet.

“That’s something that obviously I would like to do but again I don’t put the pressure on myself because I believe when it’s meant to be, my time will be, and that’s basically it.

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